Originally written by Mark Millar and illustrated by Steve McNiven, the story saw the heroes of the Marvel Universe split down the middle by the introduction of the Superhuman Registration Act.

"Releasing our most acclaimed graphic novels as prose fiction not only allows us to reach a different audience with these stories, but also gives us a chance to bring those readers back to the comics that started it all," said David Gabriel, senior vice president of sales for Marvel Entertainment.

"Civil War is easily our best-selling graphic novel of the past decade and certainly one of the most influential in recent memory, so it was the perfect launch title for this new line.

"Not only will you get all the action that Mark Millar and Steve McNiven delivered in comic form, but no fan will want to miss the new wrinkles we've added in this novel."

Previous novelisations of major comics events include adaptations of Crisis on Infinite Earths and Kingdom Come.